When you think of the name “dire wolf,” you might imagine one of two things: the massive, intelligent dogs from Game of Thrones, or ancient wolves that went extinct long ago and were lost to the effects of earth and time.
Originally, you’d be right — dire wolves are assumed to have gone extinct approximately 10,000 years ago, with their oldest fossil record dating back over 250,000 years. But now, dire wolves are not a thing of the past or fantasy; as of April 7, it was revealed to the world that there are three living, breathing dire wolves on the planet.
But if there is anything we’ve learned from the Jurassic Park movies, it should be that no animal brought back from extinction will be perfect. And that is precisely the case with the three dire wolf pups being raised by Colossal Laboratories & Biosciences.Â
The company first extracted genetic material from a 13,000-year-old tooth discovered in Ohio, as well as a 72,000-year-old ear bone found in Idaho. From there, Colossal identified the 14 genes that accounted for the dire wolf’s special characteristics, such as its large size, wider head, and more powerful body structure. After that, they made 14 edits in the genetic material of gray wolves, which was then inserted into renucleated gray wolf ova, growing into embryos. Forty-five were transferred into the wombs of two female domestic hound mixes. Finally, after 65 days of gestation, Romulus and Remus were born. Named after the twin brothers who are thought to have brought about the beginning of the Roman Empire, the twin pups now serve as a landmark in the future of science and the capabilities of our modern technology.Â
Furthermore, only a few months later, on Jan. 30, a third surrogate dog birthed Khaleesi, the first female dire wolf pup to be “brought back from extinction.” Named after Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones, she, Remus, and Romulus are now living together as a pack.
Understandably, the announcement of these dire wolf pups has brought on plenty of controversy, both on social media and in the scientific community. Scientifically, many are trying to clear the air about the improper labelling of these wolf pups, since they are technically not “real” dire wolves, but genetically engineered gray wolves.Â
And this isn’t the first time “dire wolves” have been brought back through less-than-scientifically accurate methods. In 1988, the Dire Wolf Project was started with the intent “to bring back the exact bone and body structure of the extinct, prehistoric dire wolf… using only domesticated dog breeds.” Many were skeptical of the group due to its questionable health standards, in addition to the fact that the “dire wolf” title seemed purely like a marketing scheme to sell back-breed dogs (or dogs bred with the intent of resembling their ancestors).Â
On the other hand, social media is up in arms about the dire wolves — Remus, Romulus, and Khaleesi — because of the sheer lack of self-awareness. Some point out that the goal of returning the dire wolf to “its rightful place in the ecosystem” makes no sense, since animals like the dire wolf and woolly mammoth, which Colossal is also working to resurrect, lived in an ice age ecosystem that no longer exists. Additionally, many view Colossal’s work as tone-deaf, noting that many of our current endangered species are on the brink of extinction. Essentially, everyone is asking: Why bring back an extinct species, if we can’t even take care of the ones we have on Earth right now?Â
But on that note, the three pups do raise another important question: How does this shape the future of “resurrection?” Well, as mentioned earlier, the Jurassic Park film franchise presents a strong case to not bring back dinosaurs for the clear and present danger they could pose. However, the editing and manipulation of genetic material could answer the critical endangerment crisis many species face. Some hope that with the technology used to create Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi, we will also be able to genetically alter endangered species, whose genetic diversity has been lost due to rapid population declines, to regain that diversity and have a better chance of surviving a rapidly changing planet.Â
While we can only hope that this science is used for the conservation of the animals we have on our current Earth, the possibility of it being used as some sort of animal money-maker monopoly is not zero. Overall, the birth of these three pups has been a reality-changing scientific discovery, for better or for worse. I believe that George R.R. Martin, the author of ‘A Song of Ice and Fire,’ who recently met Remus, Romulus, and Khaleesi, best described it in an interview with USA Today discussing the encounter. “Whatever the reason, I have to say the rebirth of the dire wolf has stirred me as no scientific news has since Neil Armstrong walked on the moon,” Martin said to USA Today.